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Video archive

Complex 36 demolition

The two mobile service towers at Cape Canaveral's Complex 36 that had supported Atlas rockets for decades are toppled to the ground with 122 pounds of explosives.

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Atlas 5's NRO launch

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifts off June 15 from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 on the classified NROL-30 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

 Full Coverage

Booster cameras

Hitch a ride up and down on the twin solid rocket boosters that launched shuttle Atlantis last week. Each booster was outfitted with three cameras to give NASA upclose footage of the vehicle's ascent.

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Atlantis launch coverage

Shuttle Atlantis blasted off June 8 on its mission to the space station.

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Phoenix: At the Cape

NASA's Mars lander named Phoenix has arrive at Kennedy Space Center to begin preparations for launch in August.

 Full coverage

STS-63: A rendezvous with space station Mir

As a prelude to future dockings between American space shuttles and the Russian space station Mir, the two countries had a test rendezvous in Feb. 1995.

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"Apollo 17: On The Shoulders of Giants"

Apollo's final lunar voyage is relived in this movie. The film depicts the highlights of Apollo 17's journey to Taurus-Littrow and looks to the future Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz and shuttle programs.

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"Apollo 10: To Sort Out The Unknowns"

The May 1969 mission of Apollo 10 served as a final dress rehearsal before the first lunar landing later that summer. Stafford, Young and Cernan went to the moon to uncover lingering spacecraft problems that needed to be solved.

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News Archive: June 1-30

Ukrainian Zenit rocket makes its return to flight
Russia launched a secretive military satellite aboard a Zenit rocket Friday, marking the first flight of the Ukrainian-built booster since it suffered a catastrophic failure on a sea-going launch pad in January.
   FULL STORY
Bigelow's second inflatable space module launched
The next step in one man's vision to populate Earth orbit with a network of private space stations was realized Thursday, when the entrepreneur's company launched its second inflatable module from Russia on a test flight.
   FULL STORY
Mars rover ready for descent into Victoria Crater
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity is scheduled to begin a descent down a rock-paved slope into the Red Planet's massive Victoria Crater. This latest trek carries real risk for the long-lived robotic explorer, but NASA and the rover team expect it to provide valuable science.
   FULL STORY
OTHER HEADLINES  Additional stories today
New Horizons slips into electronic slumber -- New Horizons' first operational hibernation phase is off to a successful start. On commands transmitted from the Mission Operations Center, the spacecraft eased into hibernation mode in the early hours of Wednesday. Since then, New Horizons has twice broadcast "green" beacon tones back to Earth, indicating all systems are healthy and operating as programmed.

Scientists say Earth and Mars are different to the core -- Research comparing silicon samples from Earth, meteorites and planetary materials, published in Nature, provides new evidence that the Earth's core formed under very different conditions from those that existed on Mars.
Jets from neutron star rival those made by black holes
One of the astonishing qualities of a black hole is its ability to power great jets of energy and matter into space. Now, using NASA's orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory, a team of astronomers has obtained evidence that neutron stars - the dense, collapsed cores of exploded stars - produce jets that, relatively speaking, rival those produced by black holes.
   FULL STORY
NASA's Swift sees double supernova in galaxy
In just the past six weeks, two supernovae have flared up in an obscure galaxy in the constellation Hercules. Never before have astronomers observed two of these powerful stellar explosions occurring in the same galaxy so close together in time.
   FULL STORY
Gamma ray satellite lodging in comfortable, 'clean room'
NASA's Gamma ray Large Area Telescope (GLAST) awaits its launch in December this year and is currently living in a "clean room" at General Dynamics in Gilbert, Ariz. while it's being checked and tested.
   FULL STORY
Laser tool for next Mars rover ready for testing
Mars mission Job One: Get there. Job Two: Find rocks and zap them with your laser tool. Now learn the nature of the debris by spectrographically analyzing the ensuing dust and fragments. It's every kid's dream, vaporizing pebbles on other planets, and thanks to a team at Los Alamos National Laboratory, it's going to happen.
   FULL STORY
Liquid-mirror telescope to see deeper back in time
Someday, astronauts on the moon may pour liquid onto a disc-shaped mesh to make a huge mirror for a powerful telescope, according to a technical article just made public. The liquid would include a silver-coated surface, and would be part of an optical-infrared telescope with a 66-foot to 328-foot aperture capable of observing objects 100 to 1,000 times fainter than the James Webb Space Telescope, the authors say.
   FULL STORY
NASA prepares for new science on the moon
NASA has selected proposals for future lunar science activities and established two new programs that will enhance research made possible by the Vision for Space Exploration.
   FULL STORY
Cape's Delta 4 rocket
launch pad repaired

With cracks on its launch pad freshly patched up, the giant Delta 4-Heavy rocket has returned to the oceanfront complex aiming for a middle-of-the-night blastoff in late August to haul a missile observation satellite into orbit for the U.S. Air Force.
   FULL STORY
Space shuttle Atlantis glides to California landing
Running a day late because of blustery Florida weather, the space shuttle Atlantis dropped out of a sunny Mojave Desert sky and swooped to a smooth touchdown on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, to close out an action-packed space station assembly mission.
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   MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
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   LANDING GROUND TRACK
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VIDEO: NEWS CONFERENCE AFTER LANDING PLAY
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Hubble asteroid images help prepare for craft's visit
These Hubble Space Telescope images of Vesta and Ceres show two of the most massive asteroids in the asteroid belt, a region between Mars and Jupiter. The images are helping astronomers plan for the Dawn spacecraft's tour of these hefty asteroids. Dawn is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral on July 7.
   FULL STORY
Eta Carinae: New view of doomed star
Eta Carinae is a mysterious, extremely bright and unstable star located a mere stone's throw - astronomically speaking - from Earth at a distance of only about 7,500 light years. The star is thought to be consuming its nuclear fuel at an incredible rate, while quickly drawing closer to its ultimate explosive demise.
   FULL STORY
Atlantis departs the space station after successful visit
With pilot Lee Archambault at the controls, Atlantis undocked from the space station Tuesday morning. A couple of hours later, dramatic video looking back past the tail of the shuttle showed the station small in the distance, its face-on solar arrays looking like the wings of a "Star Wars" TIE fighter.
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   UNDOCKING PREVIEW
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VIDEO: FOOTAGE OF THE STATION DURING SHUTTLE FLYAROUND PLAY
VIDEO: SPACECRAFT FLY INTO SUNRISE DURING SEPARATION PLAY
VIDEO: STATION'S VIEW OF SHUTTLE ATLANTIS UNDOCKING PLAY
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VIDEO: SUNI WILLIAMS' TEARFUL FAREWELL MESSAGE PLAY
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Scientists ponder plant life on extrasolar planets
When we think of extrasolar Earth-like planets, the first tendency is to imagine weird creatures like Jar Jar Binks, Chewbacca, and, if those are not bizarre enough, maybe even the pointy-eared Vulcan, Spock, of Star Trek fame. But scientists seeking clues to life on extrasolar planets are studying various biosignatures found in the light spectrum leaking out to Earth to speculate on something more basic and essential.
   FULL STORY
   WHAT'S IN EXOPLANETS' ATMOSPHERES?
NOAA spacecraft ready for active hurricane season
With an active Atlantic hurricane season expected for 2007, NOAA's high-powered satellites are ready to send forecasters a steady stream of crisp, detailed images, and other important data, of any storm that develops in the Western Hemisphere.
   FULL STORY
OTHER HEADLINES  Additional stories today
Milestone for advanced military communications satellite -- Lockheed Martin announced that it has successfully integrated the spacecraft propulsion core structure and the payload module for the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite. The Advanced EHF system will provide global, highly secure, protected, survivable communications for all warfighters serving under the U.S. Department of Defense.

Northrop Grumman works on upper stage technology -- A contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory will allow Northrop Grumman Corporation to continue technology development for the Upper Stage Engine Technology program. The program's goal is to design and test a 40,000-pound thrust-class turbopump for liquid hydrogen propellants to reduce risk in future upper stage engine procurements.
Shuttle set to undock; Russian computers tested
The Atlantis astronauts said goodbye to the international space station's crew late Monday, floating out of the Destiny laboratory module one by one before sealing hatches and gearing up for undocking Tuesday morning.
   FULL STORY
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OTHER HEADLINES  Additional stories today
ESA, NASA sign agreement on JWST and LISA Pathfinder -- The European Space Agency and NASA have signed official agreements that define the terms of the cooperation on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and on the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) Pathfinder mission. ESA will provide the launch of JWST with an Ariane 5 ECA rocket.

NASA signs commercial space transportation agreements -- Through three new Space Act agreements, NASA is expanding cooperation with companies interested in commercializing access to space. The companies are developing capabilities to transport goods and people to low Earth orbit.

Nanotechnology space sensor test successful in orbit -- NASA recently tested the first nanotechnology-based electronic device to fly in space. The test showed that the "nanosensor" could monitor trace gases inside a spaceship. This technology could lead to smaller, more capable environmental monitors and smoke detectors in future crew habitats.

SES contracts for 10 launches with Arianespace and ILS -- SES has unveiled new groundbreaking satellite launch vehicle contracts covering the majority of the satellite launch requirements for the SES group from the period 2009-2013. Five launches each have been awarded to Arianespace and ILS.

Lockheed Martin set to deliver BSAT-3a and JCSAT-11 -- Lockheed Martin is poised to deliver two spacecraft in the third quarter of 2007 for two premiere customers, the Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) and the JSAT Corporation (JSAT), both based in Japan.
Suni Williams bids tearful farewell to space station
In her final daily planning conference with space station controllers in the United States and Russia, astronaut Sunita Williams, now the world's most experienced female space flier, bid a tearful farewell to her Russian crewmates, her American replacement - Clay Anderson - and the laboratory she's called home since last December.
   FULL STORY
Atlantis crew wraps up fourth and final spacewalk
Astronauts Pat Forrester and Steve Swanson put the finishing touches on a dramatic space station assembly mission Sunday, completing a fourth and final spacewalk to activate a new solar array rotation mechanism and ready the lab complex for a critical sequence of upcoming construction flights.
   FULL STORY
   SPACEWALK PREVIEW
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SpaceX lays out to-do list before next Falcon 1 launch
SpaceX released the findings of a post-flight data review of the March launch of the company's Falcon 1 rocket Friday, identifying eight glitches engineers must address before the booster takes to the skies again in November.
   FULL STORY
   ARCHIVE: COVERAGE OF MARCH LAUNCH
Old Atlas towers knocked down at Cape's Complex 36
Two historic Atlas rocket launch gantries made of metal and memories were brought down by chest-thumping explosions Saturday morning, erasing Complex 36 from the Cape Canaveral skyline after five decades of space missions.
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   IMAGES: PHOTOS OF THE TOPPLINGS
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Atlas 5 rocket experiences problem during launch
The Atlas rocket program's spotless success record over the past 80 flights in 14 years was hit with an apparent blemish Friday while launching a classified U.S. national security satellite payload, but the extent of the problem hasn't been disclosed to the public.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
   IMAGES: ATLAS 5 LIFTS OFF
   IMAGES: LAUNCH AS SEEN FROM PRESS SITE
   IMAGES: SUNSET AFTER THE SCRUB
   IMAGES: EVENING VIEWS OF ATLAS 5
   IMAGES: ROLLOUT TO THE PAD
   SEE OUR ATLAS ARCHIVE
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Two more space station computers revived
Hoping for the best, station commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineer Oleg Kotov hot wired two computers aboard the international space station today that engineers had feared were victims of fatal power supply failures. To everyone's delight, the machines promptly booted up and appeared to be running normally, two more successes in an improbable recovery from crippling computer crashes last week.
   FULL STORY
Williams sets new space endurance record
Early today, outgoing space station astronaut Sunita Williams, launched to the lab complex aboard shuttle Discovery last December, passed the 188-day four-hour mark, setting a new space endurance record for female astronauts. The old record was set by Shannon Lucid during a stay aboard the old Russian Mir space station.
   FULL STORY
Astronauts wrap up successful spacewalk
Enjoying an unexpected reversal of fortune, Russian cosmonauts carried out electronic bypass surgery Friday to resuscitate the station's befuddled electronic brains. The spacewalkers then fluffed and pampered a huge set of solar blankets, coaxing them back into compact storage boxes and avoiding a host of feared problems.
   FULL STORY
Shuttle blanket repair work goes smoothly
Astronaut Danny Olivas, anchored to the end of the shuttle Atlantis' robot arm, carried out orbital surgery on the ship's heat shield Friday, using a medical stapler and stainless steel pins in a bid to secure a peeled-back insulation blanket on one of the orbiter's aft rocket pods.
   FULL STORY
   SPACEWALK PREVIEW
Computers brought to life after impromptu repair
In a possible breakthrough, space station commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineer Oleg Kotov used a jumper cable to bypass a suspect secondary power supply switch Friday and successfully activated four of six navigation and command computers that appeared to malfunction earlier this week, NASA officials said.
   FULL STORY
German radar imaging satellite launched into space
A German satellite carrying a cloud-piercing, night-vision radar was launched today to create the most precise maps and imagery ever produced by a civilian space radar system.
   FULL STORY
Atlantis solid rocket booster cameras dazzle
Hitch a ride up and down on the twin solid rocket boosters that launched shuttle Atlantis last week. Each booster was outfitted with three cameras to give NASA upclose footage of the vehicle's ascent. The video provides beautiful views of the launch, booster separation from the shuttle and the fall into the Atlantic for retrieval.
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Computers shut down again for more troubleshooting
Russian computers aboard the international space station failed to boot up properly early today even though they were cut off from U.S. solar array power. Engineers had speculated that some subtle change in the station's shared power grid, caused by the installation this week of a new solar array, might have triggered the Russian computer crashes that have crippled the space station.
   FULL STORY
   OVERNIGHT STORY
   THURSDAY EVENING STORY
Station teams scramble to resolve computer glitch
A major computer failure in the Russian segment of the international space station, possibly triggered by the addition of new U.S. solar arrays earlier this week, has shut down critical systems and left the outpost dependent on the shuttle Atlantis for any major changes in orientation.
   LATEST UPDATE
   TELEMETRY RESTORED
   EARLIER STORY
Shuttle astronauts complete lengthy spacewalk
Astronauts Pat Forrester and Steve Swanson wrapped up a grueling seven-hour and 16-minute spacewalk Wednesday after partially retracting a solar array blanket and setting up a powerful rotary joint needed to turn another set of arrays to follow the sun.
   SPACEWALK ENDS
   RUSSIAN COMPUTERS STILL DOWN
   ARRAY RETRACTED 45 FEET
   MORE COMPUTER PROBLEMS
   RETRACTION BEGINS
   PREVIEW STORY
Study supports notion that Mars once had ocean
A paper in this week's issue of Nature by University of California, Berkeley, geophysicists demolishes one of the key arguments against the past presence of large oceans on Mars.
   FULL STORY
To keep fit in space, train like an athlete
If one part of your car isn't properly maintained, it can affect how the entire vehicle runs - especially if you're taking a long trip. The same can be said for the human body. That's why, when it comes to fitness in space, it's important to create a program addressing the whole system, parts included.
   FULL STORY
Scientist finds a new way to the center of the Earth
Humans have yet to see Earth's center, as did the characters in Jules Verne's science fiction classic, "Journey to the Center of the Earth." But a new NASA study proposes a novel technique to pinpoint more precisely the location of Earth's center of mass and how it moves through space.
   FULL STORY
Computer glitches impact station attitude control
A Russian navigation computer aboard the international space station hung up Tuesday, triggering a chain reaction of computer miscues in the midst of work to unfurl two huge new solar blankets.
   FULL STORY
Space station deploys its new set of solar wings
Two new solar array wings attached to the international space station Monday were slowly unfurled Tuesday, pulled from their storage boxes by self-assembling masts. Carried out in stages, the 15-foot-wide wings extended like giant window blinds, stretching some 240 feet from tip to tip.
   FULL STORY
   PREVIEW STORY
   FALSE FIRE ALARM
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Mission extended two days; blanket repair ordered
NASA's Mission Management Team decided Monday to extend the shuttle Atlantis' mission by two days and to add a fourth spacewalk Sunday. That will give the astronauts enough time to complete their space station assembly tasks and fix a pulled-up insulation blanket on one of the ship's aft rocket pods. Flight controllers plan to make a decision Tuesday on whether to add the blanket repair to the third or fourth spacewalk.
   FULL STORY
Truss connected to station, spacewalk completed
The astronauts attached a 36,000-pound solar array truss segment to the international space station Monday, then Atlantis crewmates Jim Reilly and Danny Olivas went outside for a six-hour spacewalk to make critical electrical connections and remove a variety of launch locks.
   EVA COMPLETED
   TRUSS INSTALLED
   PREVIEW STORY
Shannon leaning toward spacewalk repair of blanket
Concern about possible re-entry heat damage to the underlying structure of the shuttle Atlantis' left-side maneuvering rocket pod under a pulled-up insulation blanket may prompt a simple spacewalk repair job, the chairman of NASA's Mission Management Team said Sunday.
   FULL STORY
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Atlantis arrives at station after smooth rendezvous
Commander Rick Sturckow guided the shuttle Atlantis to a picture-perfect docking with the international space station Sunday after a dramatic end-over-end flip across the heart of South America to let the station crew photograph the shuttle's fragile heat shield.
   FULL STORY - [updated]
   PREVIEW STORY
   DOCKING TIMELINE
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Reconnaissance satellite launched into orbit by Israel
Under the cloak of secrecy, Israel launched a military spy satellite early Monday with the ability to eavesdrop on Iran and Syria amid heightening tensions in the region.
   FULL STORY
NASA pleased with tank; shuttle blanket examined
The Atlantis astronauts late Saturday used the shuttle's robot arm and a powerful camera on the end of a heat-shield inspection boom to take a close-up look at a pulled up insulation blanket on one of the ship's aft rocket pods.
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Crew's first full day in space will be a busy one
The astronauts on Saturday were awakened for their first full day in space by a recording of "Big Boy Toys" beamed up from mission control. The astronauts plan to spend the day testing spacewalking suits, checking out the tools needed during rendezvous with the station Sunday and carrying out a detailed inspection of the shuttle's nose cap and wing leading edge panels.
   FULL STORY
   TODAY'S FLIGHT PLAN
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Atlantis sails to space with station power module
Running three months late, the space shuttle Atlantis, carrying seven astronauts and a $367 million set of solar panels, roared to life and raced into orbit Friday, hot on the trail of the international space station.
   FULL STORY
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Mission preview: Launching more power for the station
The shuttle Atlantis restarts space station assembly after a five-month hiatus. The long-delayed flight is part of a critical sequence of missions to prepare the outpost for delivery of European and Japanese research modules. This is our 17,000 word preview of Atlantis' mission.
   FULL REPORT
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Italian satellite rockets to space atop Delta 2 booster
A Delta 2 rocket successfully launched Thursday evening from California to begin assembling an Italian-built constellation of observation satellites that will use radar to image the Earth for commercial and military uses.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
   LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE
   GROUND TRACK MAP
   LAUNCH PHOTO
OTHER HEADLINES  Additional stories today
Russian military spacecraft launched by Soyuz -- A Russian Soyuz rocket delivered a covert military satellite into orbit Thursday evening, marking the nation's first launch of a defense satellite this year.
Cosmonauts perform another station spacewalk
Expedition 15 commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov ventured outside on a spacewalk Wednesday to install a dozen micrometeoroid shielding panels on the Zvezda command module of the space station.
   FULL STORY
   SUMMARY OF LAST EVA
MESSENGER probe completes flyby of Venus
NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft sped over the cloud tops of Venus at a relative velocity of more than 30,000 miles per hour, passing within 200 miles of the surface of the planet Tuesday evening for a gravity assist on the trek to Mercury.
   FULL STORY
Clocks ticking for Friday's shuttle launch
Inside the Kennedy Space Center firing room Tuesday evening, the three-day launch countdown began as planned for Friday evening's liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis bound for the international space station.
   MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates!
   COUNTDOWN TIMELINE
Space shuttle launch countdown begins tonight
Shuttle engineers are gearing up today for the start of Atlantis' countdown to blastoff on a mission to deliver a new set of solar arrays to the international space station. With forecasters predicting a 70 percent chance of good weather, the countdown is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. this evening, targeting a launch attempt at 7:38 p.m. Friday.
   FULL STORY
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Mercury-bound space probe gets upclose with Venus
Scientists will have a rare opportunity to get a unique look at Venus today, when a NASA probe bound for Mercury will slingshot around Earth's sister planet and conduct dual science observations with a European craft in orbit.
   FULL STORY
Atlantis astronauts arrive at the Cape for launch
The seven-man crew of space shuttle Atlantis arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Monday, having flown to the launch site from Houston aboard T-38 training jets. The astronauts are set for launch Friday evening on a mission to the space station.
   FULL STORY
   STS-117 QUICK-LOOK
   MISSION FLIGHT PLAN
   LAUNCH WINDOWS CHART
   SHUTTLE LAUNCH SCHEDULE
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Planet found with a year lasting just 31 hours
An international team of astronomers has discovered an unusual planet that orbits its parent star in just 31 hours. It is also a very massive planet - about twice the mass of the solar system's biggest planet, Jupiter - and is one of the planets with the shortest known periods.
   FULL STORY
First image of surface features on a sun-like star
University of Michigan astronomers combined light from four widely separated telescopes to produce the first picture showing surface details on a sun-like star beyond our solar system.
   FULL STORY
OTHER HEADLINES  Additional stories today
Research points to origin of ripples in the Milky May -- New research on the composition and age of a group of stars known as the Hercules Stream raises questions about one of the prevailing theories as to how our galaxy formed, and gives new clues about how these mysterious streams really were created.
NASA: Climate approaching 'dangerous' point
NASA and Columbia University Earth Institute research finds that human-made greenhouse gases have brought the Earth's climate close to critical tipping points, with potentially dangerous consequences for the planet.
   FULL STORY

Read our earlier news archive page.